WO2017035571A1

WO2017035571A1 - Analysing smart meter data for solar or storage recommendation

Info

Publication number: WO2017035571A1
Application number: PCT/AU2016/050721
Authority: WO
Inventors: James Myatt; Darren Miller
Original assignee: Mojo Power Holdings Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Mojo Power Holdings Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2015-08-31
Filing date: 2016-08-10
Publication date: 2017-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 2018-02-28

Abstract

A method of receiving energy consumption data from smart meters in relation to users which has been gathered over the course of a number of days and analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing solar energy generation or energy storage equipment.

Description

ANALYSING SMART METER DATA FOR SOLAR OR STORAGE RECOM MENDATION

Technical Field

The present invention relates to systems and methods used in retailing energy. The systems and methods described are particularly suitable for accommodating and encouraging the adoption of customer site based renewable energy generation and storage solutions.

Background to the Invention

Referring to figure 1, the electricity industry in Australia is structured into discrete segments: generation 100, transmission 200, distribution 300 and retail 400 and is governed by a scheme known as the National Electricity Market.

The National Electricity Market (NEM) began operating as a wholesale market for the supply of electricity to retailers and end-users in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia in December 1998. Operations are currently based in five interconnected mainland regions that largely follow State boundaries. In 2005, Tasmania joined the NEM as a sixth region. Some infrastructure in the NEM is owned and operated by state governments and other infrastructure is owned and operated under private business arrangements.

Exchanges between electricity producers and electricity consumers are facilitated through a pool where the output from all generators is aggregated and scheduled to meet demand. The electricity pool is not a physical location, rather, it is a set of procedures that the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) manages according to the provisions of National Electricity Law and National Electricity Rules (the Rules) and in conjunction with market participants and regulatory agencies.

Electricity is an ideal commodity to be traded using pool arrangements because of two unique characteristics:

• Electricity cannot be stored for future use, so supply must vary dynamically with

changing market demand; and

• As one unit of electricity is indistinguishable from all other units, it is impossible to determine which generator produced which electricity.

The electricity wholesale market has two aspects to it - physical electricity supply, and wholesale contracts for price hedging. The physical market is a mandatory spot market, where all electricity produced and consumed flows through a central pool administered by AEMO. AEMO determines a price for each half hour interval based on demand and supply. This price can currently vary between -$l,000/MWh and +$13,800/MWh from one half hour to the next.

Energy retailers are required to pay AEMO for electricity used by their customers in each half hour, at the variable spot price. In order to establish a fixed price in advance, energy retailers may enter into separate load following hedge contracts, covering 100% of the electricity used by their customers. These contracts are financial derivatives that provide cash settlements referenced to the half-hourly spot price index. These load following hedge contracts also include the reallocation of associated NEM prudential requirements.

Electricity production is matched to electricity consumption, and spare generating capacity is always kept in reserve in case it's needed. The current energy price then can be calculated. Electricity production is also subject to transmission limitations so that the network is not overloaded.

In delivering electricity, a dispatch price is determined every five minutes, and six dispatch prices are averaged every half-hour to determine the "spot price" for each NEM region. AEMO uses the spot price as its basis for settling the financial transactions for all electricity traded in the NEM.

The National Electricity Rules (the Rules) set a maximum spot price, also known as the Market Price Cap. For 2015/16 this cap is currently set at $13,800 per megawatt hour. The Rules also set a minimum spot price, called the market floor price. The market floor price is currently -$1,000 per megawatt hour. The Australian Energy Market Commission's Reliability Panel reviews the market price cap and market floor price settings every four years to ensure they align with the NEM reliability standard.

To pay generators, AEMO must recover costs from customers. Most customers don't participate directly in the NEM; purchasing their electricity through a retailer. Customers pay the retailers a commercial tariff, and retailers manage customers' energy purchases, including paying AEMO the spot price.

NEM participants (including retailers) need to manage the financial risks associated with the significant spot price volatility that occurs during trading periods. They achieve this by using wholesale supply contracts that are financial contracts that lock in a firm price for electricity that will be produced or consumed at a given time in the future. These arrangements are generally in the form of derivatives, and include swaps or hedges, options and futures contracts.

In addition to the cost of electricity, retailers incur other variable costs related to the supply of electricity that are incurred by reference to the amount of electricity consumed by its customers. These other variable costs include fees payable to electricity network operators and distributors and costs of complying with mandated renewable energy and carbon schemes.

Electricity retailers charge retail customers for electricity based on a combination of daily charges ($ per day) and volumetric charges i.e. the amount of electricity consumed by the customer ($ per kilowatt hour). The volumetric charge is charged for at a retail rate which is arrived at by adding a margin to the direct costs per unit of energy and certain other variable costs of supplying energy. Typically in Australia the volumetric charge components represents the majority (approximately 85%) of a customer's bill. In Victoria and NSW, retail energy pricing has been de-regulated and the retailers set their pricing generally on an annual basis. In the ACT, Tasmania and Queensland, the Government (through the relevant authority) sets the default price for retail energy each year for non-market contract customers. Generally, this sets the ceiling level for all retail energy pricing. It is anticipated that the Queensland Government will remove pricing controls for South East Queensland in 2016.

As a result of the margin pricing model, energy retailers make larger profits from customers who consume more electricity. This provides a disincentive to the retailer to encourage the customer to adopt energy saving measures or to adopt consumption reducing measures such as installing solar energy generation equipment or energy storage equipment.

Summary of the Invention

In a first aspect the present invention provides a method of retailing energy including the steps of: entering into agreements with energy users to supply energy to the users under an agreed cost structure; the cost structure includes a periodic fixed fee component and a volumetric component; wherein the volumetric component is based on charging each user for their energy consumption at a rate reflective of the variable costs of supplying energy incurred by reference to the amount of energy consumed.

The method may further include the step of installing a smart energy meter in relation to the user's energy service, the smart meter being arranged to gather energy consumption data over the course of each day. The method may further include the step of making the energy consumption data available to users in real or near real time.

The method may further include the step of analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing solar energy generation equipment.

The method may further include the step of analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing energy storage equipment.

In a second aspect the present invention provides a system for retailing energy including: storage means for storing details of energy users; billing means for billing for the supply of energy to the users under an agreed cost structure; the cost structure includes a monthly fee component and a volumetric component; wherein the volumetric component is based on charging each user for their energy consumption at a rate reflective of the variable costs of supplying energy incurred by reference to the amount of energy consumed.

The billing means may operate based on energy consumption of a user which is derived from a smart meter, the smart meter being arranged to gather energy consumption data over the course of each day.

The system may further include means for making the energy consumption data available to users in real or near real time.

The system may further include analysing means for analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing solar energy generation equipment.

The system may further include analysing means for analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing energy storage equipment.

In a third aspect the present invention provides a method of identifying energy users who may benefit from installing solar energy generation equipment including the steps of: receiving energy consumption data in relation to users which has been gathered over the course of a number of days; analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing solar energy generation equipment.

In a fourth aspect the present invention provides a method of identifying energy users who may benefit from installing energy storage equipment including the steps of: receiving energy consumption data in relation to users which has been gathered over the course of a number of days; analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing energy storage equipment.

Brief Description of the Drawings

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating segments of the electricity industry;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a system for retailing energy;

Figure 3 shows the menu structure of the customer portal presented by the system of figure 2;

Figure 4 shows the typical energy consumption pattern of a customer of the system of figure 2;

Figure 5 illustrates the expected impact on the energy usage pattern of figure 4 by installing solar energy generation equipment;

Figure 6 illustrates the impact on the energy usage pattern of figure 5 of installing energy storage equipment; and

Figure 7 shows the user interface of an application used by a customer of the system of figure 2.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Embodiments of the invention involve a novel way of delivering and pricing retail electricity based on a 'fee for service' model. This aligns the price charged with the cost of servicing a customer. This allows the energy retailer to delink energy margin from consumption and offer rates at significantly lower prices to certain segments of the market. This alignment between the retailer and the customer enables the retailer to focus on energy management, control and cost minimisation for the customer.

In some embodiments of the invention the retailer provides rich data and knowledge to customers with a real-time energy usage feed from a smart meter installed by the retailer. The retailer uses this data to build individualised customer usage profiles and provide a

comprehensive web portal and smart phone application for the customers.

After a period of operation, once sufficient qualitative and quantitative data has been accumulated, the retailer can accurately assess each customer's suitability for solar photovoltaic systems and storage technology. The retailer may own the solar assets and enter into associated Power Purchase Agreements with customers with respect to the electricity generated from these assets.

Referring to figure 2, a system 10 is shown for retailing energy. The system 10 is embodied in an internet connected server computer 12 running suitably configured software under control of an operating system by way of a typical processor and memory architecture 14. Server 12 is connected to database 16 used for storing and retrieving information used in operating the system. Server 12 communicates via the internet 19 by way of router 18 to receive and transmit information used in the system as will be later described. Server 12 may be provided as a hosted cloud computing system. System 10 is operated and administered by a company 20 which in this example is an electricity retailing company. Energy users in the form of residential electricity customers 30, 32, 34, have entered into supply agreements with the energy retailer 20 for their electricity supply. The energy retailer 20 has arranged for installation of smart electricity meters 40, 42, 44 at the homes of the customers. Smart meter 40 is installed at the home of customer 30, smart meter 42 is installed at the home of customer 32 and smart meter 44 is installed at the home of customer 34. The smart meters 40, 42, 44 measure the electricity consumption of respective customers 30, 32, 34.

The agreements between the energy retailer 20 and the customers 30, 32, 34 specify an agreed cost structure. The cost structure includes a periodic fixed fee component in the form of a monthly fee and a daily charge and volumetric component which is based on the energy consumption of each customer. The volumetric component is based on charging each user for their energy consumption at a rate reflective of variable costs of supplying electricity incurred by reference to the amount of energy consumed. In some cases these variable costs may be passed on directly, in some other cases it may be calculated on an estimate or average basis. The cost of the volumetric component to a customer is reflective of the variable costs of supplying electricity of the retailer if the rates being charged to the consumer are substantially the same as the variable costs over time. In this way, the profit margin of the retailer is not dependant on the volumetric component of the electricity supplied under the agreement.

Each customer 30, 32, 34 has access to their account through an online portal and will primarily contact customer service via web chat, telephone, email, text, social media, or crowd support channels. A site map 50 showing the structure of the online portal is shown at figure 3. Smart meters 40, 42, 44 are digital meters that record electricity consumption data in relation to the customers' electricity supplies over the course of a day. They include a wireless communications system and are programmed to record and transmit customer usage data to be stored in database 16 of system 10. Smart meters 40, 42, 44 may be programmed to "push" the data which they have recorded once every 24 hours. In addition, the smart meters 40, 42, 44 can be polled by the energy retailer 20 or the customers 30, 32, 34 to obtain consumption data in real time. Having the ability to view consumption data in real time allows the sending of relevant consumption alerts and warnings to the customers. In addition, a customer can inform themselves of their electricity consumption at any time to better understand the electricity usage in their home so that they can better control their own consumption.

Customers who install solar PV technology are able to reduce their energy consumption from the grid as the technology works by enabling the locally generated solar electricity to be consumed in preference to grid supplied electricity. This happens automatically, continuously and instantaneously. When the electricity demanded by the home is greater than the energy supplied by the solar PV system, the difference is supplied from the grid.

Conversely, during times when the solar electricity produced is greater than the electricity demanded by the home, the excess solar electricity is sent back to the grid. By analysing the recorded consumption data over time, the energy retailer can accurately profile a customer's usage to determine whether they might benefit from the installation of solar electricity generation equipment, such as photovoltaic panels, or electricity storage equipment such as storage batteries. In some electricity retail markets, including Australia, the net differences (that is, the net consumption from the grid, or net surplus sent back to the grid, as the case may be) are measured and recorded by the metering technology every half hour.

Savings that accrue as a result of the grid electricity that solar electricity has displaced are measured at the prevailing grid electricity price (volumetric charge) for that half hour period. With respect the economic benefits of solar electricity exported back to the grid, typically retailers offer to pay the owners of solar PV systems a nominal rate, of around 25% of the full retail rate (volumetric charge), for these solar exports. Referring to figure 4, the average energy usage pattern over a typical day for a particular customer is shown. All of the customer's electricity is imported from the grid.

Referring to figure 5, the usage pattern of figure 4 has been overlaid with the expected output of a typical 5kW photovoltaic panel system. The customer now uses less grid electricity, and there are times during sunlight hours where electricity is being exported to the grid, which would earn them a small credit to their billing account. Referring to figure 6, the usage pattern of figure 5 has now been further overlaid with the expected impact of installing a typical 12kWh storage battery. Solar exports are reduced in favour of charging a deep cycle battery. Later in the day when sunlight fades the battery is drawn upon instead of importing electricity from the grid to further reduce the amount of grid electricity used by the customer.

By analysing the data provided in figures 5 and 6 in light of certain assumptions as to the cost of grid electricity, revenue from grid exports, cost of installation of solar panels and batteries, it is possible to quantify the net benefit to customers of installing solar power generation and storage equipment.

In assessing the economic benefits that may accrue from installation of a solar PV system it is important to accurately predict the amount of grid electricity that will no longer be required as well as the amount of excess solar electricity that will be sent back to the grid. This is a highly complex calculation and depends on the electricity consumption profile of the customer, the size, orientation and climatic conditions where the solar PV system is installed.

After analysis of the profile data, customers who stand to benefit the most can then be contacted directly with a proposal for the provision of solar generation and/or storage equipment. This varies from customer to customer but it may be a stand-alone solar PV system offering, a battery storage system, or a combination of both. These systems are delivered to customers through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with the energy retailer owning the asset and recovering the costs of the solar PV and storage system on a kWh basis.

Referring to figure 7, customers may access a dedicated application using their own computing device such as a mobile phone or tablet. By way of the application interface 60 they are provided with direct access to real-time consumption information which can also reflect the contributions made by their solar generation or storage equipment. The application will also allow customers to see their current billing balance in real-time with accurate usage data. This is a key platform for reducing customer service enquiries as well as providing a value add service for customers. The apps may also include functionality to provide information and control of isolated devices within customers' homes. In this patent specification, a "smart meter" means an energy meter which is able transmit consumption data. Although the embodiment above has been described with reference to the Australian electricity retailing industry, embodiments have application in other countries, and for other types of energy, such as gas.

Any reference to prior art contained herein is not to be taken as an admission that the information is common general knowledge, unless otherwise indicated.

Finally, it is to be appreciated that various alterations or additions may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method of retailing energy including the steps of:

entering into agreements with energy users to supply energy to the users under an agreed cost structure;

the cost structure includes a periodic fixed fee component and a volumetric component;

wherein the volumetric component is based on charging each user for their energy consumption at a rate reflective of the variable costs of supplying energy incurred by reference to the amount of energy consumed.

2. A method according to claim 1 further including the step of installing a smart energy meter in relation to the user's energy service, the smart meter being arranged to gather energy consumption data over the course of each day.

3. A method according to claim 2 further including the step of making the energy

consumption data available to users in real or near real time.

4. A method according to claim 2 further including the step of analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing solar energy generation equipment.

5. A method according to claim 2 further including the step of analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing energy storage equipment.

6. A system for retailing energy including:

storage means for storing details of energy users;

billing means for billing for the supply of energy to the users under an agreed cost structure;

the cost structure includes a monthly fee component and a volumetric component; wherein the volumetric component is based on charging each user for their energy consumption at a rate reflective of the variable costs of supplying energy incurred by reference to the amount of energy consumed.

7. A system according to claim 9 wherein the billing means operates based on energy consumption of a user which is derived from a smart meter, the smart meter being arranged to gather energy consumption data over the course of each day.

8. A system according to claim 10 further including means for making the energy

consumption data available to users in real or near real time.

9. A system according to claim 10 further including analysing means for analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing solar energy generation equipment.

A system according to claim 10 further including analysing means for analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing energy storage equipment.

A method of identifying energy users who may benefit from installing solar energy generation equipment including the steps of:

receiving energy consumption data in relation to users which has been gathered over the course of a number of days;

analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing solar energy generation equipment.

A method of identifying energy users who may benefit from installing energy storage equipment including the steps of:

analysing the energy consumption data to identify users who may benefit from installing energy storage equipment.